Social Representations of College Hazing: A Necessary Ethical Reflection

Abstract

Objective: to understand the social representations of college hazing in the health field. Method: the Social Representations theory of Serge Moscovici was the theoretical-methodological framework used in this qualitative study. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews conducted with health workers, freshmen, senior students, and professors of a university located in southern Brazil, in August 2015. The interviews were audio recorded and later transcribed. Results: four thematic categories emerged: Social representations of hazing, Experiences, Ethical problems, and Influence on professional training. The results of the first two categories are presented. Hazing is represented from two different perspectives: a cooperative one - jokes and happiness, fraternization and friendship, integration and participation, greeting and reception; and a coercive perspective - violence, aggression, submission, initiation and rite of passage. Conclusion: ambiguity between the social representations of hazing reveals different potencies in the students’ moral development: on one hand, there is the exchange of values with positive contributions and, on the other hand, there is the experience of devaluations that undermine the process. An ethical analysis of college hazing performed by the academic community and the involvement and commitment of professors are essential for changes in paradigms concerning professional training to take place.